Enclosures for electrical equipment, such as circuit breaker panel boards or load centers, are designed to connect incoming service or main lines to the terminals of a main circuit breaker. The current is distributed through branch circuit breakers and output terminals to branch lines which exit the enclosure.
The standards promulgated by certain municipalities require that a removable barrier be installed between the main circuit breaker and the branch circuits in an electrical load center. Several methods are used to support this barrier which increase the cost and complexity of manufacturing, as well as, installing the enclosure.
One method of supporting the barrier requires riveting brackets to the side wall of the enclosure. Another method lances a part of the side wall flange. Both methods require multiple screws to be inserted at the factory to hold the barrier during shipping. Contending with all these parts during the subsequent installation is labor intensive.
The art needs a new and improved removable barrier to separate the input terminals from the remainder of the components in an electrical load center which is inexpensive to manufacture and easily installed. The present invention provides such a terminal barrier and load center assembly.